


Enterprise Crowd - Season 1

by Synapsida



Series: Enterprise Crowd [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Cussing, Drinking, Drunken sex, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Hangover, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 05:32:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11960733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synapsida/pseuds/Synapsida
Summary: These are the adventures of Reader, a Lieutenant Commander assigned the Enterprises IT engineering team. Her biggest flaw? Her temper.





	1. Chapter 1

There was a corner of the Enterprise that only belonged to you and your coworkers - you were 10 in total, just enough to cover shifts and the occasional illness. You all donned the red shirt and were immensely proud of it - though affiliated to Engineering, you rarely saw your CEO and he rarely saw you. Usually, everything went just swimmingly, or swimmingly enough to just pass by shift after shift. You were the few IT guys left on an advanced ship like this. Just a few weeks ago a whole horde of new Ensigns had boarded ship and those weeks following were usually the busiest.

  
„Vance, this fuckwit actually paid for alleged Human-Deltan porn and got his PADD infected.“ you exclaimed at your coworker while shaking your head vigorously.  
„And, did he get worth his money?“ he shot back looking up from a PADD he was working on.  
„Nah, he probably dumped his first salary into this stuff, only to have this file getting blasted by Wintermute the second his PADD connected to the ships network.“ you giggled a bit as you removed the locks from the PADD, identified with name and grade („Lieutenant Officer“) to the ships ICE and had the corrupted files removed.  
„See, good as new for the nutjob to get it blasted again come next shore leave.“  
Vance snorted and shook his head. He threw the PADD he’d been working on into a box already full of PADDs and turned around on his chair. He was a small guy - with whispy blonde hair and a stern look to him. People rarely got along with him, but that was because they never made the effort to actually get behind his cool demeanor. At least that’s what you told yourself.  
You threw the PADD onto the pile and groaned.  
„I swear, if I have to reset another Ensigns password or roomcode, I’m gonna throw myself out of a bloody airlock.“  
Vance grunted - it was his version of affirmative laughter - and grabbed another PADD.  
„Mr. Scott probably won’t like it, if you name part of the ship after some weird 20th century pop culture stuff.“, he argued and lifted an eyebrow.  
„You talking about poor Wintermute?“  
„For example“  
Shrugging you grabbed another PADD of the „To-Do“ pile and plugged your diagnostics tool in.  
„If he thinks so, he can come down and tell me himself.“  
„As if“, Vance cut the connection to the new PADD on his lap and just threw it on the growing pile of „Finished“ PADDs. You quirked an eyebrow at him. „Works fine, the owner just needs to turn it on properly.“ The both of you shared a look of shared disbelief before you continued working.

  
Mid-Beta turned into lunch break - a good time to share the latest gossip in engineering - and then into late Beta and finally into the last few minutes of your shift, eagerly awaited by plans to share a beer or two with that cute guy from the laboratories.  
„You forgot something“ Vance stated and glanced over the pile of finished PADDs. No catastrophes today, just regular work. It had been a good, quiet shift which had allowed you to actually get some work done.  
„I .. what?“ you furrowed your eyebrows and lifted your head from the report you were about to finish. „Ensign Yueh is going to hand out the PADDs we finished today in the first half of Gamma.“  
„Yeah,“ a fiendish grin spread across his face as he threw you a communicator which was painted red and gold. You groaned.  
„You’re on call today, Babe.“  
„Fuck that, Vance. When did I sign up for this?“  
„Last week, when you convinced T’Sai to switch duty because you wanted to go out with that guy from communications.“  
Groaning once more you grabbed the communicator and stuffed it into your pocket. Of course you’d forgotten about that little incident.  
„Have a nice evening, Y/N“  
You muttered something not suitable for general audiences and called it a day.

* * *

Everything went according to your idea of a perfect evening until the communicator went off. It was of course just seconds after you had slipped into your PJs and of course Ensign Yueh was on the other side, babbling frantically about some incident in the monitoring system.  
„Bullshit“, you muttered as Ensign Yueh forwarded you the alert on your PADD, but in the moment you read it, you felt your blood leave your face. It was time to slip into your uniform again.

* * *

Not much more then 10 minutes later you stood in front of your Commanding Officers quarters and frantically mumbled to yourself. Knocking did not help and you couldn’t hear the Klaxon in his room going off either. He probably had muted the alarm, because your PADD still showed the Warp Core Alarm going off every 2 minutes.  
„Dammit“, you knocked at the door again.  
Had he left? Probably. Maybe he was monitoring the Warp Core manually. Mr. Scott was probably furious, hell, you’d definitely be furious in his place.  
In that moment you decided to plug your security code into his door and override its controls to enter the room. The door slid open and there was - nothing. Silence. The lights were shimmering, already dimming down. You noticed that the lights were behind the ships usual dimming cycle.  
„Hi?“ you whispered but no one answered.  
Determined to fix the blemish on your teams reputation you grabbed a chair and pulled it over to a wall, climbed up and opened up a panel.  
„Utter bullshit“ you ripped out a cable and plugged your diagnostics tool in, your fingers tapping furiously at your PADD, giving way to your irritation.  
„Why does shit like this has to happen…“ you continued grumbling about as you worked your way through the chaos that unfolded before you.  
„WHO the fuck did that?“ you ripped out another cable, when a soft, warm voice interrupted your constant stream of swear words: „Do ya get paid by curse words per minute, lass?“  
„What?“ your head spinned around in shock.  
„Ya’re cursing like a sailor“, your commanding officer, Montgomery Scott, added and you were unsure wether he was joking or serious. Or how he got there in the first place. He looked surprisingly calm and somewhat interested in the situation unfolding before him.  
„Well, Sir, I’m on a ship. I thought cursing was part of the job.“ you quipped back. Some day that mouth of yours would get you killed. It was probably today.  
He had his arms folded in front of him and cocked his head just slightly, watching you and the entanglement of cables surrounding you.  
„On a 18th centuries whaling vessel, perhaps…“ now there was definitely humor in his voice, which made you feel at least a bit relieved.  
„Uhm…“ you murmured and began to stuff the cables back where they belonged to. „Some f- …idiot .. decided to override the warp cores frequency settings manually, which threw the monitoring services system off.“  
„I know that idiot“, retorted the voice behind you, but the tone of it went right past your conscious mind.  
„Yeah?“, you started to collect your tools. „Sir, you can tell him that overriding settings this way will cause unexpected behavior ALL THE TIME.“ emphasizing the last three words you turned around and jumped off the chair.  
„That idiot was me.“ his eyes were hazel-blueish and at this very moment piercing through you. Funny how one remembered those details.  
„And a simple manual override shouldn’t interfere with our monitoring systems like that.“ he added.

  
„Oh, come on, Sir,“ you watched - or listened - with horror how your big mouth got the better of you and felt your temper flare within seconds. „Everything can interfere with a soft AI like our monitoring system. The underlying neural network was simply not trained to -„  
„Lass“, he interrupted you, gently, but with determination in his voice and you felt your ears and cheeks burning red. „If it wasn’t, it has to be.“  
„Oh, come on…“ you paused, then you added a stretched: „Sir.“ and continued down a path you didn’t really want to see the end off: „You really are Mr. Warp-Equation an’ all but I know these bloody networks better then anything and you should see the shit these things get up to sometimes. Just look at the micro-climate in -„  
At ‚Mr. Warp-Equation‘ you knew you had overstepped your boundaries by at least a mile and the tiny rest of self-preservation you got left prevented you from continuing to talk just after ‚micro-climate’. The fire in his eyes and the strain of his shoulders were a good hint to stop too.  
„I’m.. sorry, Sir.“ clenching your teeth you sprang to attention.  
„Mr. Warp-equation here“, he started and took a step into your general direction. His voice grew thick with accent. „Knows this ol’ lady here from top to bottom.“  
„Of course, Sir.“, you answered stiffly. You were probably as good as dead.  
„Mr. Warp-Equation,“ funny how his accent stumbled around the words, you thought - a thought that was completely uncalled for right now and certainly not helping. „thinks it’s better for Lieutenant Y/L/N to get back to her quarters, reread starfleet regulations and report back for duty at Alpha in my office.“  
„You’re right, Sir. I’ll do exactly that, Sir.“ you stared at a point over his shoulder, your face now burning hot. That’s not how you had went from Cadet to Ensign to Lieutenant Officer on Starfleets most prestigious ship. Not at your age. But it was probably the reason you’d been assigned a team that had relatively scarce contact to other members of the crew. If any at all.  
He handed you your PADD with some sort of curious fury, as if up until this point you’d been part of a faceless mass - now sticking out like a sore thumb.  
„Sir, thank you, Mr. Scott, Sir.“ you answered and left with as much grace as you could muster.


	2. Chapter 2

„FUCK,“ every motion on the bridge came to a sudden halt at your loud exclamation.  
„Is everything alright down there?“ asked the voice of Captain Kirk himself, who turned his head and leaned over his seat at the same time.  
„Captain, Sir, yes.“ you crawled out from under a panel and ripped the cables attached to your PADD off at the same time, prompting another curse, although not as loud or rude as the one before. „I’m sorry, Sir. Telemetric System C is now rebooting, the quantum processor got a bit jiggled up.“ - „I suppose jiggling up is an occurrence Mr. Scott will want to hear about.“ Kirk said, half a smile on his face. You could see at least a dozen eyes switching back to their respective posts, although most of the other present crew members were still clinging to a mug of coffee.  
Coffee. Nice hot coffee.

  
Your PADD showed the rebooting sequence and you flicked through the logfile.  
„Yeah, all fine, Sir. Telemetric System C is online again.“, you stuffed your PADD into your backpack. Alpha hadn’t officially started yet, but you had received another call from the bridge and had spent a delightful hour scrambling behind a control panel, running diagnostics and murmuring to yourself until you had pinned down the problem and then cut your hand on a metal edge - which prompted the aforementioned curse.  
„Your hand is bleeding, Lieutenant Commander Y/L/N“, the captain nodded into your direction.  
„It’s just a scratch, Sir.“ you assured the Captain, who shot you a look that seemed rather unconvinced. „I’ll report back to Mr. Scott and take a detour to medbay afterwards.“  
„How about you make that detour now, kid.“ a pair of heavy hands landed on your shoulders, the soft drawl of the Doctor himself behind you as he started to guide you to the door.  
The handsome devil was known for hunting down everyone on the ship if necessary, even the captain himself.  
„I appreciate the concern, Doctor McCoy, but I’ve got a really important meeting at start of Alpha and Mr. Scott will flay me alive if I don’t attend it.“  
„I will have to have a serious word with Mr. Scott on your behalf then.“  
„Please don’t.“ you said, practically flinching at the thought. He raised an eyebrow and, to Kirks visible amusement, led you right to medbay.

* * *

When the Doctor finally released you after putting you in the dermal regenerator, of all things!, Alpha was well underway and you were skipping through Jefferies tubes to cut the way to Engineering as short as possible. You made a mental note to avoid bridge from now on. That place was definitely cursed and you now knew why security and engineering avoided that place. „Dammitdammitdammit“ you cursed as you slid down a tube, past an Ensign screaming from surprise and landing just a few meters from your Commanding Officers office with the hard ‚THUMP!‘ of heavy issue boots. You immediately picked up speed again and basically bolted through his office doors.

Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott had already lifted his head from some ‚damned paperwork‘ at the commotion outside and seemed fairly unsurprised to see you standing there, panting and sweaty and overall apologetic looking. His eyes flickered to your bandaged hand and a expression of concern crossed his face, but was replaced within seconds by a stern look.  
„Lieutenant Y/L/N, is there not only a micro climate, but also a different time zone where yer room is located?“  
You pressed your lips together before you opened them up again to speak. Already you could feel your temper flare.  
„No, Mr. Scott, last time I checked Life Support Zone C was working fine.“  
His right eyebrow lifted just the tiniest bit and you bit your tongue.  
„Yer late.“ he stated.  
„I noticed.“. Why. Why did your mouth had to have a life on it’s own in front of him.  
„I mean“, you added, concerned by the look on his face „I had a call to the Bridge, Sir, and my hand got hurt and Doctor McCoy insisted on me accompanying him to medbay.“  
A moment of silence stretched between the two of you as he got up and folded his hands behind his back, taking a leisurely step in your direction.  
„I assume yer well?“  
„Yes, Mr. Scott.“  
„I’m sure I dinnae need to remind ya of yer behavior last night.“  
„No, Mr. Scott“ you answered and took a deep breath.  
„I want ya to retrain those AIs, so that something like last night will not happen again.“  
He could see the „But“ written on your face and in the way you clenched your teeth.  
„We cannae have something like tha’ happen again, Lieutenant.“ he stressed.  
You opened your mouth and the look in his eyes dared you to challenge him.  
The scotsman took another step closer and you could see how the light got caught in his dark brown hair, the angry line that furrowed his face now.  
„Sir“  
„I hope that’s a „Yes, Sir“, lass.“  
The beeping of your communicator broke the tense silence.  
„Am I allowed to get that, Mr. Scott?“  
He gestured a yes with his hand and you flipped your communicator open with more force then necessary. It was Vance.  
„Yes … No …“ it was difficult discussing in a civil manner with Vance, while the fire in your superior officers eyes seemed to challenge you even now. „I’m at Mr. Scotts Office, Vance, I’ll come right away.“  
Shutting your communicator you lifted your face to Montgomery Scott.  
„I have to assist my team, Sir, but I’ll get to your request right after that.“  
„Ya can go, Lieutenant Y/L/N“ he stepped back, finally releasing the tension between the two of you. Without further ado you turned around and strode away.

* * *

„You know, most people on the crew that work with him simply refer to him as Scotty“, Vance said without looking up from the diagnostics output he was reading.  
„So?“ you shot back grumpily. The words in front of your eyes slid past you without making much sense.  
„I’m just saying that he values good work and if you retrain those networks he’ll forget what has happened.“  
„You mean I should save my sorry ass by being a nice little engineer?“  
Vance rolled his eyes at your remark and continued to scroll through the data on his PADD. He knew better then to argue with you at this point.  
You tried to focus on your work.  
Reconfiguring. Yeah. Great. That would take you at least until end of Beta, you would never leave those systems unattended during a retrain. Probably an all-nighter.  
„The bastard can kiss my - „ Vance never learned what part of you the Enterprises’ Chief Engineer could kiss, as T’Sai opened the door to your teams office with an accidental loud bang.  
„Well, I’m gonna bugger off. Got to retrain some networks.“ you muttered and got up.  
„Gonna see you in mess later on?“  
„Fuck you, Vance.“

* * *

„Okay, now inject the learning variables for the last manual warp core overrides and let’s see how you get along with that madmans attitude.“ you mumbled to the machinery while working, slid the data-PADD into the computing unit in front of you, then leant back to watch the graphs on your PADD change and shift.  
The blueish tint of the Enterprises datacenter was calming, but the cool air made your fingers go numb. You’d normally work from a remote office, but today you valued the secluded place down in the Enterprises belly. While the system worked through the data you’d fed it, you took the bandage off - if only to save yourself the trouble to go and visit medbay again tomorrow.  
„Hah“, you muttered, typed something on your PADD and restarted the learning algorithm.  
„If it wasn’t, it has to be!“ you said in a mock accent and let out a deep sigh, closing your eyes at the same time. Maybe you could just take a nap, while this thing worked. Gamma had crept upon you two hours ago already and you knew the lights on the ship were slowly dimming down.  
„Mr. Scott really can-„  
„Ach. I really hope I dinnae have to listen to the end of tha’ sentence, Lieutenant.“  
Once again on this day you sprang to attention, nearly tripping over the cables around you.  
„At ease“ the scotsman said and eyed the room. You eased, but just a little.  
„How is the training going?“  
„Good, Sir.“  
„And yer not working remote because …?“  
You were positively sure you’d murder that man at some point, if only for questioning seemingly everything you did.  
„I like being alone, Sir.“ you remarked. He grabbed the PADD and studied the output shown without answering to your scathing remark.  
„Looking good, probably ready by Alpha.“  
You sucked in your upper lip and nodded along.  
„Ya dinnae need to sit by it’s side for the rest of the night, Lieutenant. Yer relieved until Alpha. Get some sleep.“ turning away from the PADD he saw you shrugging.  
„I’ll not leave the system unattended to while in this state.“  
„It’s only training, the network is not even deployed, lass. If it fails during nightshift ya can get back to it tomorrow“  
„Just leave it alone? Waste more time?“ you raised your shoulders and felt a deep furrow appearing on your brow. „It’s … not just any network, Sir. I’m sorry to say, Sir.“ you drew in a deep breath and pressed your lips onto each other once more. „That’s no true AI, Sir, it needs supervision. It’s … it’s …“ another deep breath: „It’s gonna be part of the Enterprises subconsciousness! If it has to feel the ships ailments for us, we have to care for it beforehand. And you want it to practically sense whatever thing you’re up to at any given moment - that takes time!“ you had not noticed how your voice had gotten gradually louder, practically yelling at him.  
Mr. Scotts face changed from bafflement, to a certain softness and settled on a cool expression afterwards.  
„Thank ya for explaining my ship to me.“, he said, voice chilly. Your mouth snapped shut.  
„I …“ he began and you could see behind the cool demeanor he was giving you, could see how he was trying to be the best superior he could be. „I see ya care deeply about the ship, lass. But yer gonna take care of ya self as much.“ he nodded to the bandage.  
The air felt even more cool against your burning face.  
„Sir?“  
„Off ta quarters, Lieutenant. Continue tomorrow.“  
„But that’s stupid! I NEED to attend to this. NOW!“  
For a moment it seemed as if he wouldn’t say anything, but the outburst followed just a second later:  
„YER AFF YER HEID!“, he raised his voice, his jaws clenched in-between words, „IT’S AS IF YER TRYING TO ARGUE WI’ ME ON PURPOSE! THA’S THE MOST GLAIKIT THING I’VE HEARD TODAY!“  
Silence fell between the two of you, both of you huffing and staring at each other. You ground your teeth.  
„I“, you began and it was now your turn to be baffled, staring at him open mouthed.  
„Out. Quarters.“ he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and closed his eyes. You collected your things hastily - „Good Night, Sir.“ and brushed past him.


	3. Chapter 3

„Spit it, Mr. Scott, what’s on your mind?“ Captain Kirk leant back in a chair, tumbler of scotch in his hand and eyeing his chief engineer with suspicion.  
Montgomery Scott muttered something of „Bloody murder“ and took a sip of his own scotch, then turning the tumbler around in his hands.

  
„Are you still raving about that woman, man?“ Bones grabbed for the bottle, helped himself to another round of scotch and looked over to Kirk. They were exchanging a look that, luckily, did not catch the engineers attention.  
„Not taking the necessary disciplinary matters is illogical, Mr. Scott.“ Spock was not drinking, but rather watching the unfolding discussion intently.  
„No need to lecture Mr. Scott on how to lead his department, Mr. Spock“ Kirk interrupted kindly. He raised his eyebrows though.  
„I’m taking care of it, what da ya think I am doing?“  
„Raving about her“, McCoy suggested, sipping from his Scotch, earning himself an ugly look from the scotsman.  
„I’m not ‚raving‘“ Scotty emphasized and emptied his tumbler. „I dinnae …“ he huffed and the glass in his hands wandered from one hand to another. „She’s irritating, she’s a nuisance, she’s bullheaded and her temper’s out of control.“ he grabbed the bottle and put it down again right away, setting his glass next to it. „She’s raving about her networks and AIs and the ships subconsciousness and won’t take a damned word from anyone.“  
„Yeah, I can’t even imagine you two getting along“, remarked Bones and earned himself a side eye from Kirk.  
„Bedside manners, Bones.“  
„Southern Charm, Jim.“  
„May I suggest that, rather then a disciplinary matter, you are expressing a subconscious courtship behavior? I know for a fact that these things are rather complicated in humans.“  
Bones choked on his scotch, coughing and prompting Jim to clap on his back in an attempt to save his friends live as well as not break into laughter himself.  
Scotty stared at the Vulcan open mouthed, who himself seemed rather satisfied with his conclusion.  
„Yer af yer heid!“  
„Thanks for the assessment, Mr. Spock“, said Kirk, his lips twitching treacherously.  
„Yer absolutely af yer head. All af ya!“ the scotsman repeated, muttering.  
„How about“, Kirk began. Bones had stopped choking and was obviously containing himself, if only barely so.  
„Tomorrow’s the monthly engineering party. Which I have, of course, not heard of.“ the Captain added and seemed bemused. „Maybe you just talk to her not as her superior, but a fellow engineer and see how things go from there.“  
„Changing the focus of ones prior communication method is indeed a viable solution to break existing tensions and reform a new bond.“  
Bones was now openly trying not to cackle, his right hand over his eyes as he bit his lower lip.  
The scotsman seemed in absolute disbelief.  
„Ya mad. Tha’s what ya are.“ Scotty huffed and folded his arms in front of him.  
„Just give it a try“, Kirk emphasized, flashing his million dollar smile.  
„Aye, Captain“, the Scotsman huffed and rose from his chair. „A’right, A’right. I’m gonna try.“ he mumbled. „But it’s yer fault if one of us get’s murdered.“  
„I’ll note it in the Captains Log, Scotty.“

* * *

Engineering Party was an excellent opportunity to do one of two things:  
One - find some handsome engineer and get hooked up.  
Two - get wickedly drunk with Vance and laugh about the latest stupid story in IT.  
Music was pumping through the air and you were well underway with option two, trying to erase the last few days from your memory.  
„You seem hellbent on getting the worst hangover in engineering history.“ Vance stated and gave you an assessing look, while himself sipping from a glass of replicated beer.  
„You!“ you exclaimed, pointing your finger at your crewmate. „Have you seen Ensign Yueh dance? He’s hilarious and the ladies love him.“  
„I spent the last fifteen minutes doing just that. Don’t change the topic.“, he answered and downed the rest of his beer, ordering another.  
The bar had always been your preferred spot at the parties. Though it was improvised, it was usually tended to by Lieutenant Lavigne, a lively older member of the crew from Security that did not mind listening to crying heartbroken ensigns all night if necessary. She had something motherly about her and when Vance ordered another beer and you went straight forward for a glass of vodka, she threw Vance a look as if asking him if this really was a good idea.  
„I’m not her father, ma’m, she’s a big girl and knows what she does.“  
„Right she does!“ you chugged the rest of your still existing vodka down and grinned. „And I’m gonna forget what has happened, Vance.“  
„I’m not gonna drag you to your room later tonight, just so that you know“, he answered, but half a grin spread across his face while his eyes observed the room. „Oooh.“ the tone of his voice made you look up from your next glass of vodka. You felt your head spin, just slightly.  
„What is it?“  
„Mr. Scott, Y/N. Aaaaand he’s looking into our direction.“  
„Fuck.“ you chugged down your vodka and glanced over your shoulder before ordering another shot.  
„He’s seen you, Y/N“  
„You gotta be kidding me.“ your voice slurred a bit.  
„Oh, he’s coming into our direction. And he’s got a bottle in his hand.“ Vance seemed to be enjoying the turn of events, something you couldn’t say for yourself at this point. Urging the barman to bring you your next shot you grabbed the glass as soon as it arrived, only to chug it down at once.  
„Yeah, definitely coming to us.“ the amusement in Vances’ voice was evident now and he was sporting an excited expression, as if he was watching a sports match.  
„‘am really happy that you’re enjoying this, Vance.“  
„You can’t run from him forever, Y/N.“  
„Yeah, see me try“ you answered and headed off to the dance floor.

  
They were playing some of the old classics and you easily fell into a dance with a woman from Beta Shift. You’d seen her once or twice in mess hall and she was laughing easily and seemed pleased by sharing your company. Sadly, you couldn’t really enjoy her company, as you were glancing over your shoulder whenever you turned around to see Mr. Scott talking to Vance. They were, in fact, laughing and drinking.  
That traitor. You’d give Vance your piece of mind later. Probably just lock his accounts out of spite.  
You turned around, grabbed the woman’s hand and pulled her closer, grinning and forgetting for a moment about the traitor and your boss. Her dark brown eyes, bordering on black, thoughtful and twinkling, locked onto yours and prompted you to grin. You pulled her closer. Maybe this evening was turning around after all.  
„‘am gonna relieve you of that.“, someone with a suspiciously scottish accent tapped onto your shoulder, relieving your hand from the very nice ladies hip and turned you around with an apologetic smile to your now ex-dance partner.  
„What.“  
Once the first shock of finding yourself in close proximity to Mr. Scott had passed, you regained your composure. He was close enough for you to smell scotch on his breath.  
„You ruined my date, Sir.“ you said and grabbed his waist, turning around to the beat of the music in an attempt to step on his foot purely by accident.  
„Yer runnin’ from me.“ he prompted and swiftly evaded your treacherous attack, his hand slid down to the small of your back, pulling you closer.  
„I’m tryin’ to solve this in a civil manner. From engineer to engineer.“ he continued and the both of you swung around once more. You could see Vance at the bar and you were sure he was betting with the barman on the outcome of this dance.  
„Civil manner?“ you brushed him off and stepped forward, pushing him back and raising your chin. „You’re questioning every single thing I do. You think I got promoted purely because of my pretty eyes?“  
He stopped dead in his track and used the velocity of your movement to turn you around. You could smell scotch and oil and felt the fabric of his uniform scratching over your skin because you were wearing your dress uniform for the party.  
„Yer not even tryin’ to listen to me!“ he said, his temper flaring as well as yours. You felt dizzy and the vodka was getting to your head. The expression in his eyes was raw and unfiltered by one scotch too many.  
„I am listening very well, Mr. Warp-Equation.“ you bumped against a wall with your back.  
„Ach, Ms. Bullhead always has a smart retort to everythin’, has she? Gettin’ loud an’ all thinkin’ yer always right?“ your noses were inches away from touching now. You drew your breath in and as your chest rose it touched that of your superior officer. The booming music seemed dull in your ears now, your heart pounding loud enough to drown every other sound.  
„Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Scott, I thought yelling was our standard way of …“  
And then - then everything went kind of blank. There was his mouth on yours - angry, sinking your teeth into his lips, fervent movement against each other determined to get the upper hand. His stubble chafing over your face. Your fingers grabbing his hair and pulling him closer. He pressed himself against you and then his head was next to yours, his coarse voice growling into your ear: „Ya know, I’ll give ya reason to yell at me“. He pushed his knee between your legs and you answered with the filthiest little sound someone had ever elicited from you.

* * *

You could not remember well how you got to his quarters, but that you left the party, assured that no one was watching when in fact several eyes were following you out. The way to his quarters took longer then necessary - you had to stop several times to kiss, as well as trying to stay fully clothed until the doors to quarters closed behind you. Through the haze of alcohol you remembered kicking your boots into a corner of his quarters and his fidgeting hands pulling your dress upwards, ripping off a few buttons in the process until he got rid of your clothing. You remembered admiring him - the dark brownish hair, his stature, how determined he looked at you and how he furiously lifted you onto his bed. Yes, you did give him the pleasure to yell at him once more but this time you yelled sounds of pleasure and begged for more - the last part he seemed to enjoy tremendously, searching your body with his fingers as if handling a delicate machinery. He was appreciative and smug and hungry for more. You could read it in his eyes, as well as he could see in yours a fierce desire. Your fingernails dug into his back and you enjoyed him arching and growling, how he moved above you, pushing into you until you reached the peak of lust once more. He turned you around and grabbed you by your shoulders, coaxed you to lift your behind for him and thrust into you. There was a primal intensity to your union, let lose of all inhibitions and pride. You groaned and there was his hand in your hair, his fingernails pulling over your back in return, a desperate intensity to his movements until he finally came undone, growling satisfied and thrusting a few more times until he sank down on the bed next to you, panting. His fingers continued to play with your hair and you turned around to lie down next to him, breathing heavily yourself. You wanted to say something, now that you were drunk and pleased and admiring the scotsman next to you. But the heavy fog of being drunk finally descended upon the both of you and the both of you drifted away to sleep.

* * *

Vance was right on one thing - you woke to what felt like the worst hangover in the history of engineering. What you had not foreseen were the circumstances under which you’d awake:

Firstly you were far away from the hypo next to your bed.  
Secondly, the memories of last nights events flooded back.  
And thirdly there was a hand lying on your naked hip and you knew exactly to whom it belonged.  
„Fuck“, you whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

There were a few minutes of blissful ignorance until revelation hit you. It was nice, warm and snuggly and your body hadn’t yet started to try and collect last nights debts from you, instead cushioning you in a warm fuzzy feeling of post-intoxication. A stubble brushed over your shoulder, a pair of lips kissing you gently. A rough hand traced the line of your shoulder idly, caressed your back and landed on your ass, gripping it gently. He earned himself a purr from your lips for this - his hand knew exactly what it was doing there. Firm and slightly massaging and just overall nice. The owner of said hand sighed softly, his lips now brushing against your ear.

  
„Tha’s nice“, mumbled an all too familiar scottish voice right there and with that memory came flooding back.  
„Woah.“, you exclaimed and froze at once.  
„Fuck.“, you yelled then and leapt forward, out of the bed, only to get your foot entangled and land face forward on the floor were you then moaned in pain.  
„Shit, what…“  
The scotsman sat up, rubbing first his eyes and then his temples.  
„Lass…“ he muttered, still half asleep, forcing his eyes open in an expression of equal parts hangover, disbelief and smugness.

  
In that moment your bodily functions lined up to collect overdue debt - you could practically feel your liver texting Doctor McCoy in agony. Your stomach revolted and dizziness hit you in the face like a hammer. „Ugh.“ you got up on shaky feet, staggered over to his bathroom and emptied the content of your stomach into his toilet at once, your hands clenching the white synthetic material.

* * *

„I really hope that’s not because ya woke up next to me“, his voice said somewhere behind you.  
You tried a clever retort, but the situation being as it was you settled for using one of your hands to flip him off.  
„Yer a bullhead“, he muttered, at which you managed to gasp a „Fuck you“ in-between gagging.  
„Ye phrased that sentence differently just a few hours earlier“, the scotsman responded but had the general decency to blush.  
The retort you had expected - what you had not expected was the sound of his feet shuffling closer and him crouching down next to you then. You had not expected his rough hands on your shoulder, collecting strains of your hair from your face with a stern expression and pulling them gently back as you once more gagged - now exhausted, with tears streaming down your face as it often happened when one was in such a position.  
„I’ll get a hypo from the Doctor“ he said and you felt his hand gently rubbing your naked back.  
„I …“ you took a deep breath. „Don’t need a hypo.“ You didn’t dare to get up either, though, since you were pretty sure your situation had not improved one bit.  
„For once, don’t argue with me, lassie. I’m gonna get ya a hypo.“  
„I’m .. not.“  
„Ya are.“  
He got up, left, and after hearing him shuffle things around for a second he was back again, wrapping a blanket over your shoulder.  
„Cannae have one of my officers freeze do death while ‘am away. Dinnae run away.“

* * *

„You what?“ Bones seemed downright gleeful, while Chapel was shaking her head in open disapprovement of McCoys behavior. „Just gimme the hypo, Doctor McCoy.“  
The black haired men got up from his chair, walked over to a cabinet and started filing through a couple of dozen different drugs in there. „I should come over and have a look at her, if it’s that bad. She’s probably got a bad case of intoxication.“  
„No. Doctor … „ the scotsman sighed and ran his hand through his hair. A night of too much alcohol and bad choices made him look older then he was. „She’s fine .. just a little .. ah … hung over.“  
Bones produced a hypo from the cabinet and turned around, brows furrowed.  
„I should send a nurse with you, I should also,“ he pointed at Scottys neck now, „have a look at that scratch. It should at least be disinfected.“  
The scotsman looked surprisingly uncomfortable and shifted his shoulders in discomfort.  
„Tha’s really not necessary, Doctor.“ he answered, took the hypo given to him and fled medbay.  
Christine threw the Doctor a reprimanding look, which he answered with a shrug.  
„You can’t blame a man for trying, Chris. I had hoped to see his back in all it’s glory. After all we’ve heard from that party …“

* * *

To your general lack of surprise you did not feel better when your commanding officer returned. Instead you sat in an corner next to the toilet, wrapped in the blanket and waiting for the next opportunity your stomach would use to take sweet revenge on you. You had of course considered and even tried fleeing the scene of the crime, but you didn’t make it out of the bathroom before you succumbed to your hangover again. He walked over to you with a determination not easy to disobey. Defeated, at least for the moment, and with your cheeks now burning with fire you were surprised by how skillfully he applied the hypo to your arm.  
And within a minute your head started to clear enough to not feel like being punched in the face anymore and the nausea retreated to a somewhat tolerable level. Bless the Doctor.  
„I’ve never seen ya silent for such a long time, lassie.“  
„I’ll get back to hating you in a second, just give me a moment.“ you growled, refusing his hand and clawing your way into a standing position again. Once you had pulled yourself up you wrapped the blanket closer around your naked body, which prompted him to turn around.  
„We…“ the word had left your mouth before you could keep it back, prompting you to grab your trousers and your red shirt hastily.  
„We…“ he answered and as you glanced over your shoulder, he had still turned his back to you. From what you could see of his profile his jaws were clenched and his expression torn between .. whatever. The next thing he heard was the ‚swoosh‘ of his doors.

* * *

It was very much possible to walk the walk of shame on the Enterprise, but you only discovered so the next morning, when you walked down to your office freshly showered, in fresh clothes and with a scarf around your neck to cover the hickeys.  
You could feel eyes quickly turning away and then turning back to you the moment you passed and sudden realization hit you that you and Mr. Scotts make-out session on the dance floor had attracted a certain attention, as well as did your ‚sudden‘ disappearance together. Your cheeks were burning when you entered your office, still feeling sleep deprived and quickly getting a cup of coffee before you hid behind a PADD. Vance and T’Sai where already there but had the decency to not speak a word. In Vance case you knew this would only last for a very short time. You stared at your PADD, ignoring a message there, when Vance raised his voice gleefully.  
„Morning, Y/N“  
Not in the mood for niceties you just shrugged and muttered something under your breath that could be interpreted as everything.  
„So…“  
So it begins, you thought, shifting deeper into your chair and behind your PADD without answering.  
„You did the Dada with Mr. Scott, huh?“  
Your face could not possibly get more scarlet then it was right now.  
T’Sai lifted both her eyebrows, as to which Vance gladly expanded:„The vertical Tango? The old in-and-out?“  
As T’Sais expression grew more confused by the second, your cheeks explored deeper notes of red.  
„You held an amorous congress?“  
He was definitely enjoying this, while you started contemplating the quickest way to behead another person.  
„You buried the weasel? You took the ship to Yorktown?“  
„I am going to murder you, Vance.“  
T’Sai shook her head as she watched the human display of bickering.  
„You took it to Warp 9?“  
„YES!“ you exclaimed frustrated, lurking over your PADD with crimson cheeks for a second only to see Vance cackle.  
„Yes,“, you added, after taking a deep breath and watching your Vulcan crew mates expression grow ever more confused. „We had sex. Can we now please let the topic .. die?“  
Silence fell between the three of you and you went back to stare at your PADD.  
Wonderful, non invading, sil-  
„I am wondering though“, it was of course Vance who broke the silence not more then thirty seconds later.  
„I am wondering too, Vance.“, you answered and put as much ice into your voice as humanly possible. T’sai carefully moved the more delicate parts of her work inconspicuously off the table.  
„Like when you were at it…“ Vance continued unfazed.  
„Is it possible to throw a PADD hard enough to bang someones head in?“ you continued your own line of thought.  
„How did you call him?“ at that you stared at him in utter disbelief, now openly considering your options for homicide.  
„You sure didn’t call him Montgomery, that just does not flow“, he continued, lifting his PADD as if carrying a shield. You could actually see T’Sai move her mouth silently from the corner of her eyes.  
„Monty?“ he eyed you suspiciously, now getting slowly up from his chair while you did the same. He sported a flashing grin that would’ve made Captain Kirk envious.  
„Scotty?“ he continued, parrying a flying wrench with his PADD and ducking behind his chair.  
„That’s not it, then.“ he paused for a moment, evaluating his options.  
„Lieutenant?“ you looked around you, grabbed a pencil and threw it - very easy to evade for him.  
„Sir?“ he offered, then stopped at the expression that flashed across your face and the deep red that followed it.  
„Oh - my -„ the crimping tool hit him right in the face, earning you a satisfying ‚Ouch‘ in return.  
“Fuck you, Vance.”

* * *

Only later that night, when you lay awake and stared at the ceiling of your room, did you allow your mind to wander through the events of the night of the party. Gritting your teeth you turned around this way and that, before grabbing your PADD from your nightstand and accessing that message from earlier.

> „Let’s talk?  
>       - Scotty“

  
You sighed one sigh of a thousand this evening, before you typed an answer.

>   
>  „Okay.  
>      - Y/N“

  
Maybe half a minute passed, tiptoed away through the room when a new message arrived.

>   
>  „My place? Now?  
>      - Scotty“

  
For a moment you hesitated, but then got up and slipped into last days uniform.

>   
>  „Okay.  
>     - Y/N“

  
You grabbed your last bottle of Scotch, just in case.


	5. Chapter 5

What were you even doing? You hated that man.  
That was what you tried to convince yourself off anyways, as you strutted down to the Chief Engineers quarters.  
You were glad that you met no one while walking through the gangways, at least no one you knew or who threw you curious looks. The way was not as long as you had wished for - you felt wholly unprepared when you stood in front of his door, clutching the bottle of Scotch with desperation.  
He liked Scotch, didn’t he? Being a scotsman and all that.  
A minute passed while you tried to work through your feelings, but when a fellow engineer threatened to come into your general direction you decided to knock on his door in an example of forward retreat.

  
The doors glided open only seconds later and his brown eyes instantly met yours.  
„Y/N.“, he said, stepping aside and gesturing into the room. „Come ..come in.“  
Without saying a word you stepped in, walked to the table and put the bottle of scotch on it. Only then did you turn around, leaning nervously against the table, and faced him. His eyes were locked onto you, searching your face for … something. He tore himself away from you and got two glasses out of the kitchen, putting them next to the bottle.  
„Truce?“ he asked as he looked up again, again gesturing for you - this time asking you to sit down, which you did.  
„Truce.“, you answered and watched him how he grabbed the bottle and unstopped it.  
„Starfleet has regulations about alcohol on duty.“, he remarked casually and poured both of you that amber liquid.  
„We’re not on duty, Sir.“ you took the glass he handed you and noticed that he had poured himself just a little more.  
„We’re on a ship that’s on a mission, that’s pretty much on duty, lass“ with that he took his own glass, raised it and took a sip.  
You followed suit and stared at the liquid for a moment before speaking up again.  
„Am I here to argue about starfleet regulations with you?“ you asked and looked up. There he was again, watching you.  
„Of course not.“, he actually bit his lower lip, his hands seemingly at a loss as to where to be until they settled for the glass. For the first time it dawned onto you that he was probably as confused as you were.  
„If,“, he began and his hands now gripped the glass tightly enough that you thought it would break any moment. „If you consider requesting transfer to another ship I will grant it and write you a spotless recommendation letter.“  
The glass you had just lifted to your lips came to rest as you stared at him in disbelief.  
Never had the thought occurred to you to leave the Enterprise. The Enterprise and all your friends. The job you loved. This 5 year mission.  
Finishing what you had started and downing the drink at once you set down the glass again and shoved it over to him for a refill.  
„I’ve never even thought about that, Mr. Scott.“  
„Lass!“ he exclaimed and stopped refilling your glass for a solid second: „Dinnae call me Mr. Scott. We…“ the scotsman did not finish the sentence he had so carelessly started and when you took your glass back you finished what he had started in a whisper: „..had sex?“.  
Both of you blushed, like bloody teenagers. He downed his drink and helped himself to some more.  
„Montgomery.“ you said, surprised by the softness of your own voice. Vance was so wrong - that would sound just nice while … Yes.  
„Everyone says Scotty,“ he offered with a shrug. „But Montgomery is fine. It’s a bit more …“  
„Intimate?“ you bit your tongue and took another sip of Scotch, watching his ears turn red.

* * *

Silence stretched between the two of you - the kind of uncomfortable silence between two people unsure about each other. It was the kind of silence that gave you time to think and observe and while sipping from your Scotch now and then you eyed your counterpart. You could see a scratch on his neck and memory prompted immediately how he had gotten it. It made you shift in your chair and prompted you to down that drink in your hand once more. As you saw it, you were well on the way to do a rerun of the night before. An uncomfortable realization struck you. You remembered how the brown hair had felt between your fingers. You saw how he had not shaved this morning and imagined how his stubble would feel on the sensitive skin of your inner thighs.  
„I..“ you rose to speak, „I shouldn’t have run, Montgomery.“  
„No, ya shouldn’t“ he answered plainly. Embarrassment turned your cheeks red and while your glass was still empty you got up abruptly. Maybe it was all a mistake. A stupid mistake.  
„Maybe we should just forget about this episode and go to bed and never speak of it again.“ you muttered, teeth clenched.  
The chief engineer sprang up from his chair and, just as you started to walk to the door, caught your hand.  
„No. I’m sorry, lass.“  
You stood there, his hand wrapped around yours, skin against skin and despite everything you had done before it felt like the most intimate thing you had ever experienced.  
„I’m sorry“ he whispered and pulled ever so gently, his pull asking a question he did not dare to utter. You turned around slowly, your shoulders and chest feeling heavy with anticipation.  
The fraction of a smile played around his lips.  
„Yer a proud basterd.“  
„You are too.“  
And in that moment, watching his brown eyes take you in with fear and adoration you knew - just knew - that he’d been as surprised and swamped with what had happened, just as you had. That he had turned the events over in his head, again and again, just as you had. Examined every bit of that night with frightful curiosity. It was a painful realization and a difficult one, because it forced you to consider your own fallibility.  
It forced you to see that he had fallen hard for you, right then and there. That he had fallen for you in the moment his lips had first touched yours, in that fleeting string of moments of shared passion.  
He pulled you into his arms now, his hands grabbing your face, cupping your chin and pressing his mouth onto yours in one fluid, desperate motion. It felt like drinking liquid fire from his lips, burning hot and filled to the brim with an unspoken desire to just burn away together.  
You had fallen for him as well. You had not had the heart to admit it to yourself.  
„I hate you“, you muttered, pulling him closer, letting your hands glide over that perfect neck of his.  
He chuckled lowly, his hands now running through your hair.  
„Care to.. stay for the night, lass?“ he whispered.  
„We’ll.. figure the rest out later“, the scotsman added.  
It was now your turn to answer, eyes twinkling mischievously: „Yes, Sir.“


End file.
